Overview

mooringDesignSimulator-v2 is a desktop application developed in Python and Qt to design static subsurface oceanographic mooring lines. It can manage a component library, build the mooring visually, run a simulation, visualize the results, and produce a PDF report.

This work follows an earlier tool developed at LOPS (Laboratoire d’Océanographie Physique et Spatiale) at Ifremer Brest by an engineering school intern a few years ago, in response to practical needs for cruise preparation, configuration checking, and result sharing.

The goal is not only to draw a mooring line. The software also helps prepare a coherent working project, organize components, run a simulation, review results, and produce a PDF report that can be used by the technical teams responsible for preparing, manufacturing, and assembling the mooring components before shipping and deployment.

Why revisit this tool

The previous version of the software, developed in Python 2.x and Qt4, was no longer maintainable and, although still usable, showed bugs. Some features requested by technical teams were also missing.

For this version 2.x, I chose to keep a user interface (UI) as close as possible to that of version 1, while completely rewriting the code using modern and reliable programming techniques.

This work focused on consolidating the application around a more robust foundation:

a clearer application entry point
real project persistence with an embedded relational database
an improved graphical design interface
a more explicit simulation pipeline
better structured PDF report generation
a test suite to verify sensitive areas and make future changes more robust
the introduction of a continuous integration (Continuous Integration, CI) chain to verify after every source code change that the modifications do not introduce regressions into the application

Compared with the previous save model, this approach makes projects easier to structure, allows moorings created with version 1 to be imported, and supports features requested by users.

What the software can do

load an oceanographic component library
build a mooring line graphically
import files from version 1
adjust segment properties
save and reload projects in different formats
run a static simulation
visualize results as tables and charts
produce a usable PDF report

Main interface

Main view of mooringDesignSimulator v2 — Main application view with the design workspace, the component palette, and the main working controls.

Key technical points

The current version relies on a clearer architecture and uses reliable, proven programming techniques:

desktop user interface built with PySide6
project persistence based on SQLite, a relational database
explicit simulation pipeline: adaptation, preprocessing, solver, output
component library managed through a SQLite cache
unit and integration tests for the most structuring parts of the application

This separation matters because it makes the tool easier to maintain and evolve.

Data formats and workflow

The main working format is a SQLite database, usually stored as *.mooring.sqlite3. The application can also import or export JSON snapshots, but the core workflow relies on a stronger and better structured persistence layer.

On the simulation side, the project follows a simple sequence:

read the project
adapt it to the simulation models
preprocess the data
run the static solver
return the results in the interface and in the PDF report

Intended audience

The software is aimed at people who prepare or design oceanographic moorings and need a visual, reproducible, and documented tool for working on static configurations.

Some of the improvements made also simplify cable-length preparation by providing the marking distances for instruments clamped onto the cables.

Documentation and evolution

The repository includes:

a README.md for development and execution
architecture documentation in French and English
notes on the simulation algorithms
examples and a component library
GitHub Actions workflows to run integration tests after each repository change and generate multiplatform executables for each new release

Documentation

Documentation derived from the wiki is also available on this site: